Computer systems including personal computers, workstations, hand held devices, etc. have been utilized in an increasing number of applications at home, the workplace, educational environments, entertainment environments, etc. Peripheral devices of increased capabilities and performance have been developed and continually improved upon to extend the functionality and applications of computer systems. For example, imaging devices, such as digital presses or printers, have experienced significant advancements including refined imaging, faster processing, and color reproduction.
Some imaging devices form latent images upon a photoconductor during imaging operations. A scan lens may be used to focus light (from a laser) along a scan line of the photoconductor to write data for a plurality of pixels on the scan line. The focused light may be used to selectively discharge pixels of the scan line to form latent images which are subsequently developed using a marking agent, such as toner.
Some printers have utilized scan lens having little or minimal scan geometry error which may be represented as a linear displacement along a scan line with respect to a scan angle of a rotating polygon mirror used to reflect the light from the light source towards the scan lens. These scan lens configurations may utilize a significant number of degrees of freedom (e.g., numerous lenses and/or lens surfaces) resulting in complex and perhaps costly designs.
Aspects described herein provide improved apparatus and methods for optical scanning in hard imaging implementations.